It seems that Jeff Grace’s score for the 2009 Ti West film, The House of the Devil, has been rumoured as a Death Waltz Recording Co. release since the label came on the scene several years back. It was starting to become the soundtrack version of Duke Nukem Forever, but last month, label head Spencer Hickman announced that it was going to happen, and posted pictures of the record in all its glory.
We spoke with Hickman in the midst of moving the Death Waltz offices from London to Margate, and he shared with us the details of this release, as well as surprising us with some heretofore unannounced releases.
STARBURST: Exactly how long have you been working on The House of the Devil?
Spencer Hickman: Forever! Literally three years …
Is it true that this was originally supposed to be the first Death Waltz release?
Yes, this was supposed to be DW001.
So what was the hold up?
Really, just figuring rights out. Even though this is a new movie, the company that owns the rights are a pretty big indie and it took a while to get to the right people, and then try and figure it all out. Sometimes that is just the way it goes.
Do you feel you were able to give it a better treatment after all the time you’ve put into it?
Definitely. We are continually improving what we do and I feel like this now looks and feels pretty perfect.
We’ve seen the picture disc — what else is the release going to have, colour-wise?
There is a red version for retail. We have a deluxe version for our website and launch event at Beyond Fest, which is black with red splatter. We have the whole cast and crew coming out: composer Jeff Grace, director Ti West, stars Jocelin Donahue, A.J. Bowen and more.
We also just this second confirmed that Mike Armstrong — who composed the incredible ’80s Cars homage over the opening titles — is going to come down and play that track live (with his grandmother on drums!) and lead the whole theatre in a dance-off!
Does the release of HOTD mean we’ll be seeing some more Ti West stuff on the way?
Yes, we just got the cover to The Innkeepers finished up and the Sacrament is on the way, too.
The House of the Devil has a screening release at LA’s Beyond Fest on September 27th, and the soundtrack goes on general sale the following day, September 28th. Hickman promises that this is not a pre-sale, as they have the release in-hand.
